M134 Minigun

description

There are some guns which all-out action movies are not complete without, and the destructive M134 Minigun is one of them. Having six barrels firing up to 6,000 rounds a minute probably helps this reputation. This gun was first commissioned for the Vietnam War, and was mounted on planes, helicopters and occasionally boats to devastate the Viet Cong forces with its sustained fire. Its main drawback were the limited use - it was far too heavy for infantry to carry it, and relied on an external supply of electricity. This means that movie-style charges wielding the M134 were sadly unrealistic, especially due to the high recoil energy - the handheld version in Predator, for example, could not be held for long. Designed by General Electric in 1960 this fires .308 Winchester cartridges for maximum penetration. This gun means business.

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308 Winchester

First introduced in 1952, the .308 Winchester is the commercial version of the military 7.62x51mm NATO cartridge. It's extremely accurate, which is one of the main reasons along with its power that it is commonly used in military sniper rifles and police sharp-shooter rifles. With its widespread availability, it has grown to become one of the most popular and prevalent cartridges in the world and you will find it just as much in big-game hunting circles as military applications. It can be found in numerous firearms and movies here on...

Confilicts:

Modern Warfare

In recent decades, warfare has changed dramatically to suit the most recent technologies and tactics. But despite advances in technology and the ongoing arms race one fact remains - guns are still the defacto means of arming soldiers, and that doesn't look set to change any time in the near future. Many firearms and cartridges can trace their lineage back over a hundred years which just goes to show that if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Different countries will always have different views on how to arm their troops...

Confilicts:

Vietnam

The Vietnam War started because the country was split between communism in the north and capitalism in the south. The Viet Cong rebels who wanted to free the south started a powerful revolution during the Cold War. America continued to support the south, and when a war against the North began in November 1955, they offered assistance. However, the American public were worried by the escalating crisis and angered by the casualties. Nearly 550,000 troops were in the area when President Nixon decided to withdraw. Eventually, the North Vietnamese Army...

Films:

Apocalypse Now

Expert soldier Benjamin Willard is given a mission in the forests of Cambodia: to locate and kill Colonel Kurtz, a traitor. With the rest of his crew, including Kilgore and his helicopter unit, Willard heads off down the Nung River. They are persistently attacked by concealed forces hiding in the forest, resulting in multiple casualties. Struggling in the midst of this disastrous assignment, at the moment when all seems lost, Willard is captured and taken to Kurtz's village. The US soldier is tied up, and the bloody head of one...

Films:

Matrix

In the first film, Thomas Anderson slowly learns that humans are living in a fake, simulated world, blinded to reality by the machines who control them. His tutor, Morpheus, takes him into the real world, showing him the truth. Neo is then taught that there are secretive 'Agents' who want to stop him rebelling against the system. When their leader Morpheus is captured because he thinks Neo is more important than himself, the team start to lose hope in ever defeating the machines. Is Neo 'the One' who can end...

Films:

Predator

The Predator is an extraterrestrial life-form far more advanced than anything seen before on the Earth. It trails the special forces under the command of Major "Dutch", on their mission to rescue important hostages from Guatemalan soldiers. Upon arrival, they find a destroyed helicopter and dead soldiers, and locate a rebel base which they then attack. Suddenly, the predator arrives; it hunts each team member, and kills them one by one. The battle between the American forces and the all-supreme Predator is insanely tense. From grenade launchers to shotguns, machine...

Films:

Terminator

In the future, machines will control the planet, under the power of the immense Skynet. The Terminator has gone back in time, and is under orders to kill Sarah Connor - the mother of the future rebel John Connor, who will lead a strong resistance against Skynet. John orders a soldier to defend him, by saving his mother. In the second film, known as Judgement Day, a highly-advanced Terminator is once more attempting to kill John Connor. This time, it's the newly updated T-1000, which is going to murder John...